e of Left Section, at Centre Battalion
Headquarters, at 10 a.m., A.A.A. Message ends.' There in a nutshell you
have the glorious news."

Breakfast is never a loquacious meal, and for a while silence reigned,
broken only by a few desultory remarks as to the vileness of the food
produced by the officer responsible for the mess catering, and the
exorbitant price he demanded for it--statements which had staled with
much vain repetition.

"For heaven's sake dry up," he remarked peevishly. "You've had sardines
on toast twenty-one nights running; what more do you want? Listen to the
words of Sapper Mackintosh--the pudding-faced marvel. This"--he held up
a letter--"is the fifth which he hopes will find the recipient as it
leaves him at present--in the pink, and with the dreadful pains in his
stummik quite gone."

"Our Doctor has a wonderful bedside manner," remarked the Scotchman.
"Did ye no hear the story of him and the lady way back by Hazebrook?"

"That'll do," said the Doctor, rising hurriedly. "She had very bad
rheumatism--that poor girl."

"I know she had, Doc," put in the C.O. heartily. "And when I think of
the way you eased her sufferings I became lost in admiration over the
noble nature of your calling. In the meantime I'd be glad if you'd see
one of the men in the Head-quarters Section. From the strange explosive
noises he made when I spoke to him before breakfast I gathered by the aid
of an interpreter that he had somewhat foolishly placed his complete set
of uppers and lowers on a truss of compressed hay, and one of the mules
has eaten them."

He strolled to the door on his way to the kitchen in the next house that
served as his office.

"You'd better be careful with that rum jar, Jacko. Unless you're pretty
certain there's no danger, I'd put a slab of gun-cotton against it where
it is, and pop her off. No sense in running any risks carrying it back."

"Right-ho! I'll have a look as soon as I go up. Are you coming, Mac?"
He turned to the Scotchman.

"In five minutes, my boy. I have to perform a few blasting operations on
my pipe before I start, and then I'm with you." He pulled a battered
veteran out of his pocket, and peered into its noisome bowl.

"Not indoors, man, for heaven's sake!" The Doctor backed hurriedly out
of the room. "The last billet you cleaned your pipe in they complained
to the Mayor of the village."

"Go away, Doctor, go away. Go and put chloride of lime round the
c